Rail anchor made of plate steel



July 17, 1962 J. H. LIEBENTHAL 3,044,709

RAIL ANCHOR MADE OF PLATE STEEL Filed Sept. 2, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 V7I I I I 111,1 l

I 1j I July 17, 1962 J. H. LIEBENTHAL 3,044,709

RAIL ANCHOR MADE OF PLATE STEEL l Filed Sept. 2, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR.

. ite- States This invention relates to an improved rail anchor deviceof a general one-piece hook jaw type including an underrail `bodyportion for abutting against a stationary part of the roadbed and formedat one end with an integral hook adapted to be driven transversely ofthe rail into expanded gripping engagement with a base flange of therail at one side thereof and provided at the other end with means `forlocking engagement with the rail base yflange at the other side of therail.

Rail anchors of the Iabove general type have been made heretofore fromsteel bars of various cross-sections and some attempts have lbeen madeto produce said type of anchor experimentally from blanks sheared fromsteel plate, but the latter anchor devices have not been entirelysatisfactory, since their rail clamping jaws, in the absence ofstructure for imparting resilience thereto, are relatively rigid ascompared to anchors made of 'oar `stock and therefore are notsuflciently yieldable to accommodate rail base flanges which, due toimperfections in rolling, are of abnormal thickness. The said steelplate rail anchors are usually of lighter weight than those made of barstock and therefore use 'less material, but this advantage alone is notsufficient to insure the commercial success of a steel plate anchordevice.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a steel platerail anchor device of the above mentioned general -type which, inaddition to being of lighter weight than the corresponding type ofanchor made of Steel bar stock of the usual width and thickness,includes new and improved constructions by which additional advantagesare obtained over the solid bar anchors as follows:

The general anchor construction is such that the rail gripping hookportion thereof is relieved from excessive radial expansion strainsduring its applying movement on a rail. In this connection thecurvilinear hook portion of the anchor device in addition to beingradially expanded is also yieldable 'laterally and vertically at variouslocations during said applying movement so kas to relieve thecurvilinear portion of the hook from excessive radial expansion strains.As a yfurther advantage the improved anchor construction provides a moreversatile grip on the rail lthan the bar `anchor in that it provides astrong resilient grip on the rail during the absence of creepingpressure thereon, so as to resist the normal vibrations and otherdisturbing influences, but the tenacity of this grip is automaticallyincreased during the presence of creeping pressure on lthe rail; thisautomatic increase in the tenacity of the grip being eiected principallyby the lateral flexing of Ithe side wall portions of the anchor in adirection to move them toward a more perpendicular position and therebyincrease their gripping pressure. This increased gripping action onlypersists during the presence of said creeping pressure on the rail andresults from slight flexing of the side walls. Consequently there is notendency to induce metal fatigue.

According to the present invention, the improved anchor device is ofchannel configuration in cross-section arranged so that the open side ofthe channel faces the surfaces of the rail base to be engaged thereby.One

end of the anchor device includes a hook portion adapted to grip the topand bottom surfaces of a rail base flange, the anchor being driventransversely of the rail to its applied position rfrom one side thereof.The other end of the anchor is provided with spaced apart lug Vportionswhich, when the anchor is in its applied position, snap yover the edgeof the rail base flange at the other side of therail to lock the anchordevice in its applied position. The side ywalls of the said channeldiverge laterally outwardly at acute angles relative to the longitudinalcenter plane of the channel and are formed along their upper edges withflange portions which incline outwardly at acute angles relative to thetop and bottom faces of the rail base. The outer edges of these flangesprovide the initial contact with the top and bottom surfaces of a railbase flange so as to yield vertically when the hook porl tion is forcedonto the rail base flange. The side walls of the anchor, as a whole,including both the under-rail body portion and the curvilinear portionof the hook diverge from each other at relatively steep acute anglesand, therefore, are spread apart during the movement of the hook portiononto the wedge-shaped rail base and thereby yield to relieve the radialexpansive forces exerted on the curvilinear portion of the hook as it isdriven onto the wedge-shaped rail base flange. Therefore, the stressesincident to the general expansion of the hook portion of the anchor isdistributed to the several above mentioned flexible portions of theanchor device. The tendency which the flexed portions of the anchor haveto resume the positions from which they werel sprung exerts on the raila strong resilient grip representing the aggregate forces of the severalflexed portions ofthe anchor device. The angularity of the laterallyextending flanges which extend along the longitudinal edges of thechannel side walls exert resilient pressure at their outer edges againstthe top and bottom surfaces of the rail hase at such angle that thepresence of any creeping movement of the rail tending to press theanchor device against -a stationary part of the roadbed tends to movethe said flanges into shackle `gripping engagement with the rail andalso moves the side walls of the channel toward each other, that is tosay toward the perpendicular whereby the gripping force exerted by thehook portion of the anchor as a whole is increased in proportion to thecreeping force exerted.

By virtue of the lateral flexing of the side walls of the channel andthe vertical flexing of the lateral flange extending along the upperedges of the channel, the side Walls of the channel can be maderelatively wide Without appreciably iaecting their resiliency andthereby provide a relatively large tie abutting area to reducecornpression and other wear of the tie. By virtue of the lateralyieldability of the side walls of the channel their additional widthdoes not materially increase the force required to drive the anchor toits applied position.

`Other objects and advantages of the invention, not at this timeenumerated, will become apparent as the following description ensues.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is illus- ,trated in theaccompanying drawings wherein:

'FIG l is a fragmentary plan View of a base portionY of a railroad railandan underlying tie plate and crosstie and showing a rail anchor deviceconstructed in accordance with this invention applied to therail base;

FIG. 2 is a face view of the structure shown in FIG. 1;

its movement to its applied position on a rail base flange of normalconfiguration;

FIG. 4 is an end View in elevation of the hook end of the anchor device;and

rFIG. 5 is a fragmentary face view in elevation of the Patented July 17,1962 hook end of the improved anchor device and illustrating in dottedlines the normal flexing of the lateral anges of the anchor deviceduring its movement transversely of a rail to its applied positionthereon, a fragmentary portion of the rail base being shown indot-and-dash lines.

Referring to the drawings: The improved anchor is designated as a wholebythe reference numeral 10. It is shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 in itsapplied position on the base portion 11 of a railway rail, the latter ofwhich is seated on a conventional tie plate 12 mounted on a woodencrosstie 13. The tie plate 12 is formed with spaced apart shoulders14-14 which define the width of the rail base seat 15 and is positionedon the top face of the crosstie 13 at a location spaced inwardly from avertical side face 16 of the crosstie. This position of the tie plate onthe crosstie provides a clearance 17 between the top surface of thecrosstie and the bottom surface of the rail base 11. The tie plate 12and the rail base 11 are secured in their operativepositions by means ofrail spikes 1S which are driven into the crosstie through spikesopenings 19 formed in the tie plate. There is preferably a slightclearance 2li (see FIG. 2) between the head of each rail spike and theinclined top face of the adjacent rail base flange so as to permit thenormal wave movement of the rail, during the passing of trainsthereover, without imparting objectionable upward pressures to the headsof the spikes. l

The improved anchor device is formed from a blank of steel plate orstrip material of uniform width, the blank being shaped while hot by acombination of special rolling or drawing, bending and pressingoperations to impart to it the desired configuration of the finisheddevice shown in the drawings. The completed anchor device, being of thegeneral one-piece type of anchor hereinbefore identified, includes apreferably, though not necessarily, straight body portion 23 whichextends across beneath the rail base 11 in a position to abut against avertical face 25 of the underlying crosstie 13, a hook portion 24 isformed at one end of said body for resiliently gripping a base flange ofthe rail at one side thereof, for example the base flange 21, andlocking means 26 is formed at the other end of said body for lockingengagement with an edge surface of the base flange 22 at the other sideof the rail. The terminal portion 27 of the hook 24 and the portion 28of the said body constitute upper and lower jaws adapted to be expandedinto said resilient gripping engagement with the inclined top surface 29and the bottom surface 30 of the rail base flange 21.

Said body portion 23 and the hook 24 are of channel configuration incross-section, the channel being arranged with the open side facing thebase portion of the rail. Consequently, the said upper and lower jaws27, 28 each comprise a pair of spaced apart rail gripping portions 31,31 and 32, 32, respectively. The bottom 33 of the channel, as viewed inFIGS. 3 and 4 of the drawings, is curved transversely with an outsideradius 34 of approximately one-fifth the overall width of the anchordevice, measured across the spaced apart jaws portions 31, 31. Thesharply curved bottom 33, therefore, is suciently narrow to insure freevertical movements of the anchor body in the ballast 35 of the roadbed.The side 4walls 36, 37 of the channel diverge laterally outward at steepangles relative to 4the longitudinal center plane of the channel andterminate in out-turned flanges designated generally at 38 and 39 whichare coextensive with the length of the channel and constitute the spacedapart rail gripping portions 31, 31 and 32, 32 of the upper and lowerjaws 27, 28 of the anchor. The said flanges 38, 39 and consequently thejaws 31, 31 and 32, 32 extend laterally at sharply acute angles relativeto the rail base when the anchor is in its applied position on the railand normally bear at their outer edges against `the rail base. Theactual angularity of said flanges 38, 39 will vary to accommodate railbasis of different thickness and will also vary from time to time toincrease the tenacity of the anchors grip on the rail as hereinafterpresently described `when the anchor is subjected to rail creepingpressure.

The anchor is locked in its applied position on a rail by means oflocking lugs 26, 26 which are spaced apart lengthwise of the rail. Theselugs 'are conveniently formed by slitting the out-turned fianges 38, 39,as indicated at 40, and thereafter bending the lug portions 26, 26 to asteeper angle so that they will stand in abutting engagement with thelongitudinal edge 41 of the rail base flange 22.

The hook portion 24 of the anchor device, as previously indicated, isexpanded and therefore exerts a strong V resilient grip on `the railbase, but the expansion of the hook takes place at various areas thereofin a manner to relieve the expansion stresses on the curvilinear portionof the hook. The expansion of the said hook is effected during theapplication of the anchor to a rail. rlfhis is accomplished by manuallyapplying the hook end of the anchor onto a base flange of a rail in aposition whereby the body portion 23 will abut against a vertical faceof a crosstie and one of the out-turned flanges 38 or 39 will extendinto the clearance recess 17 in a position to abut against a verticalface of the tie plate 12. A portion of the lower jaw 23 is offsetdownwardly as indicated at 28a to provide a recess to receive the lowercorner portion of the rail base flange 21 during the initial positioningof the hook onto the rail fiange. Impact force is then applied to aperpendicular striking face 42 (see FGS. 2 and 5) by means of a trackmaul or sledge to drive the anchor transversely of the rail until thelocking lugs 26 snap up over the edge 41 of the rail base. The spacingbetween the upper and lower jaws 27, 28 of the anchor is normally lessthan the thickness of the rail base, the normal position of the railgripping portions 31, 31 and 32, 32 of the jaws being shown in dottedlines in FIGS. 3 and 5. During the movement of the anchor device ontothe wedge-shaped base flange the out-turned flanges 38, 39, particularlythe rail gripping portions 31, 31 and 32, 32 of the jaws are flexed fromthe dotted line positions to the full line positions shown in FIG. 3.Substantial radial expansion of the curvilinear hook portion 24 iseffected during the applying movement of the anchor device, but theradial stresses imposed thereon are relieved by the said flaxing of thesaid out-turned flanges 31, 31; 32, 32, and the side walls 36, 37 of theanchor device. The fact that the out-turned flanges 31, 31; 32, 32 andside Walls 36, 37 of the anchor device are yieldable independently ofthe expansion of the curvilinear portion of the hook makes the improvedanchor device readily applicable to rail base flanges which areabnormally thick, due to the worn condition of the rolls used in theirmanufacture. The inner perimeter 24a of the hook is so formed as toengage the rail base when the anchor is fully applied and thereby servesas a stop surface to prevent driving the anchor beyond its properlyapplied position.

Because of the angular position of the out-turned flanges 31, 32relative to the rail base, together with the steep angle of divergenceof the side walls 36, 37 of the channel, the tenacity of `the anchorsgrip on the rail is increased during the presence of creeping pressureon the rail tending to press the anchor device against the vertical face25 of the crosstie and/or to press the edge of a flange 32 against' avertical edge surface of the tie plate. This result is accomplished byvirtue of the fact that the anchor device is pressed against thecrosstie by such creeping pressures and thereby tends to move the sidewalls 36, 37 closer together at locations above and below the rail baseand thereby increase their effective vertical dimension and consequentlyincrease the gripping force exerted Ithereby on the rail base. However,as soon as the said creeping pressure is removed the resilience of theside walls 36, 37 of the anchor device will cause them to resume theirnormal rail gripping positions.

From the above description it will `be seen that I have provided animproved lightweight rail anchor which is so constructed as to provide,in addition to its reduced weight relative to anchors of similar typemade of bar stock, improved rail gripping qualities whereby the anchordevice will accommodate rail basis of varying thickness, relieve thehoo-k portion from excessive radial stresses during the application ofthe anchor to a rail and which will automatically increase the tenacityof its grip on the rail during the presence of creeping pressure.

I claim:

`1. A rail anchor comprising a horizontal body portion for extendingacross beneath the base portion of a railway rail in a position to abutagainst a stationary part of the roadbed of a railway track and formedat one end with a hook adapted to be driven transversely of the railinto expanded gripping engagement with diverging top and bottom surfacesof a rail base flange at one side of the rail, 'and locking means at theother end of said body for engaging an edge of the base ange at theother side of the rail; the said body portion and said hook being ofchannel configuration in cross-section with the open side of the channelfacing the rail and with its side walls diverging laterally outwardlyrelative to the longitudinal central plane bisecting the channel anddening upper and lower jaw portions -for engaging said diverging top andbottom surfaces of said rail base flange, each of said walls comprisinga portion which merges into the bottom of the channel and inclines`outwardly at a sharp acute angle relative to said longitudinal centralplane to a junction with a rail gripping marginal portion which inclinesto its outer edge at an obtuse angle relative to said longitudinalcentral plane, whereby the acute and obtuse portions of `both side wallsare readily flexed laterally outward to relieve the hook portion fromexcessive radial expansive stresses as the hook is forced upon saiddiverging surfaces of said rail base flange and are adapted by inwardflexure of the acutely inclined side wall portions relative to eachother, during lateral pressure thereon, to increase the grip of saidjaws on the rail base.

2. A rail anchor according to claim 1 wherein the anchor device is madeof plate material and the rail gripping marginal portions of the sidewalls of the channel are positioned at acute angles relative to the railbase surfaces engaged and are movable both vertically and lengthwise ofthe rail to relieve the hook from excessive radially expansive stresses.

3. A rail lanchor according to claim 2 wherein the rail grippingmarginal portion of one side wall of the channel, in the appliedposition of the anchor, projects lengthwise of the rail in opposition tothe direction of creeping movement of the rail and the rail grippingmarginal portion of the other sidewall of the channel projectslengthwise of the rail in the direction of said creeping movement.

4. A rail anchor according to claim 3 wherein the side walls yof saidchannel include outturned marginal flanges and that the ends of theseflanges remote from the hook is formed with spaced apart locking lugsbent upwardly from said anges and adapted to engage an edge portion ofthe r-ail -base to lock the anchor on the rail.

5. A rail anchor according to claim 4 wherein said out-turned marginalflanges extend around the inner perimeter of the hook and serve asresilient over-drive stop surfaces adapt-ed to engage the rail base tolimit the apply-ing movement of the anchor.

References Cited in the le of this patent Switzerland Sept. 16, 1935

